DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS // CHRISTMAS CALENDAR 2020

Thursday December 24th

Due to the stressful days of this month, neither of the people in our household had thought to buy a Christmas tree, yet alone think of decorations, so the forenoon went by with us trying to find ourselves one. We drove to a nearby plantation and tried to find a good tree. The prettiest one had been taken already of course. We had space for a larger one than most families did.

"Why don't we just take that one. It'll fit in the living room, and it might honestly be the prettiest we've come by," Damon said and pointed to one.

"Fine with me. You just start chopping." I said. Damon was always doing the dirty work and he was probably getting tired of it, but he never protested against it. Anything for me and his baby brother, as he usually said. We got the tree home. Damon and I decorated it with ornaments and lights while Stefan prepared a nice dinner for us.

"Alright, church time." Stefan said, walking out of the kitchen.

"What about the food?" I asked.

"It's in the oven and has to be in there for a few hours, so we can go."

I nodded, grabbed my jacket and put on my shoes.

"Have fun," Damon said and hung another ornament on a branch.

"You're not coming?" I asked.

"Someone has to stay and make sure Stefan doesn't burn down the house." Damon smiled and walked to me. "But I'll gladly spend some quality time with you later if you want."

I nodded and Stefan and I went to church. It was crowded but nice and cozy. We sang a few Christmas songs and heard the story about Jesus and then we left again.

"You know he only stayed home because he didn't want to miss your mom, right?" Stefan asked.

"I know." I said and smiled, and we entered the house.

Stefan finished cooking dinner and Damon and I finished decorating. Stefan put the dishes on the table and told us to take a seat.

"So we've got a bit of everything. Turkey, Goose, salads, potatoes and so on, and true to the Salvatore Tradition: Lasagna." Stefan said. I smiled and started eating. It was a good dinner. Stefan was a good chef.

"What did you bring along, boys?" My mom asked as she opened the door for them.

"Lasagna," Damon said. "Salvatore tradition."

He walked in with a grin.

"It's great to see you, Maria." He said.

"You too, Damon, but honestly who eats lasagna for Christmas?" She laughed.

"We do," Stefan said with a smile. "Our family immigrated from Italy. We always have lasagna as a side dish."

My mom laughed and hugged Stefan tightly.

I shook my head to escape the memories from a few years ago. My mom already had cancer back then. It was our first Christmas with the Salvatores. My mom had loved their company. We were like one happy family.

"It's good, Stefan. Really good." I said.

"Thank you," He smiled.

After the dinner, we cuddled up on the couch to watch home alone. Then Stefan and I baked some cookies and put them on the porch along with a glass of milk.

"You wanna go for a ride with me, Luna?" Damon asked. I nodded.

"Sure."

We got into his blue car and drove around for a while.

"Why are you stopping?" I asked as Damon stopped in front of the florist's shop

"Well, what do people usually do at the florist's?" He asked and chuckled. He went in and came back with a bouquet. He drove to the cemetery and we walked to my parents grave. He laid the flowers on the ground.

"Evening Maria and David. For your information, it's the 24th of December 2020, and your lovely daughter is celebrating Christmas with me and my brother. We're taking very good care of her. Well, besides from her broken wrist but that wasn't our fault." Damon said with a chuckle. "Anyways. We miss you both a lot and you'll both be on our minds tonight and forever. This is Damon by the way."

He stepped back and let me give a greeting to the gravestone. The wind started pulling at his dark hair and he faced the wind.

"Hey mom. Hey dad. I love you both lots. I would give you a nice speech like Damon did, but you've already heard me talk to your stone a million times, so I won't. Anyways, I just want you to know that I'll be okay. Don't worry about me. I've got Stefan and Damon."

I smiled a little and stepped back. Damon smiled to me and hooked his arm in mine. He lead me back to the car.

"Let's see what's on the radio, shall we?" He asked, didn't wait for an answer and turned on the radio. They were playing Driving Home For Christmas.

"I'm driving home for Christmas," Damon sang and looked at me.

"And I can't wait to see those faces." I sang, knowing that he wanted me to. We sang the rest of the song together while driving home. I went straight to bed, not in Stefan's bedroom, not today, but in my own. I shed a few tears before falling asleep and my last thought was for my parents.